Automated loading and unloading items

ABSTRACT

Computer program products, methods, systems, apparatus, and computing entities are provided for automated loading and retrieval of items. In various embodiments, items are received at a loading station where identification data may be captured for each item and handling instructions may be generated. In some embodiments, a label having indicia associated with the item may be generated and affixed to the item. The items may then be deposited through an access door into the vehicle identified in the handling instructions. Once the items are loaded into the access door, an automated load/unload device may deposit the item in the appropriate storage location. The automated load/unload device may also retrieve and rearrange items as desired.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/608,869 filed on Jan. 29, 2015, which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/608,758, filed Jan. 29, 2015, eachof which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

The need to improve efficiency is an omnipresent goal within the packagedelivery industry. Package volume grows each year, along with customerrequirements for greater package tracking and faster delivery. Thispresents an ongoing challenge to shippers throughout the country, whocontinuously work to streamline all stages of the package transportationprocess, from sortation and loading, to routing and delivery.

Carriers typically maintain delivery data for each of the shipments thatare forecasted to be delivered by a delivery network. This dynamic datamay include a ship date, an origin address, destination address, servicelevel, a forecasted delivery date, a unique identifier (e.g., a trackingnumber), and exception information. As a package moves through thedelivery network, the unique identifier is captured and locationinformation related to the shipment is updated in the associateddelivery data record. This delivery record may be accessed using theunique identifier to review the data.

In general, carriers generate a dispatch plan which is the schedule orroute through which a carrier assigns work to carrier service providers(such as delivery vehicle drivers) to coordinate and schedule the pickupand delivery of packages. Dispatch plans are well known in the carrierindustry and are used daily by commercial carriers to manage driverdelivery routes. Once assigned to a vehicle, the packages are routedthrough the carrier's destination facility to the appropriate vehicle tobe loaded thereon.

Typically, a carrier destination facility has a plurality of packagecars that are being loaded simultaneously and each package car has avariety of potential storage locations. Loading personnel have theresponsibility of ensuring that the packages are loaded in the correctposition within a vehicle. An unsatisfied need exists in the industryfor improved systems and methods for loading packages.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention provides systems, methods, andapparatuses for automated loading and unloading of items in deliveryvehicles. In one aspect of the invention, a method of loading items intoa vehicle is provided. The method includes the steps of: capturingshipping indicia associated with an item, wherein the shipping dataincludes a destination address or a unique identifier; determining astorage location within the vehicle for the item; disposing the iteminto the vehicle via an access port; and activating a load/unload deviceto move the item to the storage location within the vehicle.

In another aspect of the invention, a system for loading an item isprovided. The system includes a vehicle having a cargo area with anaccess port, and a plurality of storage locations, wherein at least someof the storage locations have restrictions relating to the items thatcan be stored therein; a load/unload device configured to transport anitem from the access port to one of the plurality of storage locations;and a controller disposed within the vehicle and comprising at least oneprocessor and at least one memory having program code instructionsembodied therein. The memory and program code instructions areconfigured to, with the at least one processor, cause the controller to:determine a storage location for the item; and provide instructions tothe load/unload device indicating the storage for the item.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will nowbe made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn toscale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of various aspects of an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a carrier system 100 that may beused in association with certain embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a mobile computing device thatmay be used in association with certain embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a data collection device that may beused in association with certain embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a side-view schematic diagram of a delivery vehicle 400 thatmay be used in association with certain embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a top-view schematic diagram of a delivery vehicle 400 thatmay be used in association with certain embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating steps that may be performed inloading items into a delivery vehicle according to an exampleembodiment;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating steps that may be performed indepositing items within a delivery vehicle according to an exampleembodiment; and

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating steps that may be performed inretrieving items from a delivery vehicle according to an exampleembodiment;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating steps that may be performed indepositing items into a delivery vehicle according to an exampleembodiment.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating steps that may be performed inreposting items within a delivery vehicle according to an exampleembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments of the present invention now will be described morefully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in whichsome, but not all embodiments of the inventions are shown. Indeed, theseinventions may be embodied in many different forms and should not beconstrued as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicablelegal requirements. The term “or” is used herein in both the alternativeand conjunctive sense, unless otherwise indicated. The terms“illustrative” and “exemplary” are used to be examples with noindication of quality level. Like numbers refer to like elementsthroughout.

I. Computer Program Products, Methods, and Computing Entities

Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in various ways,including as computer program products that comprise articles ofmanufacture. A computer program product may include a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium storing applications, programs, programmodules, scripts, source code, program code, object code, byte code,compiled code, interpreted code, machine code, executable instructions,and/or the like (also referred to herein as executable instructions,instructions for execution, program code, and/or similar terms usedherein interchangeably). Such non-transitory computer-readable storagemedia include all computer-readable media (including volatile andnon-volatile media).

In one embodiment, a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium mayinclude a floppy disk, flexible disk, hard disk, solid-state storage(SSS) (e.g., a solid state drive (SSD), solid state card (SSC), solidstate module (SSM)), enterprise flash drive, magnetic tape, or any othernon-transitory magnetic medium, and/or the like. A non-volatilecomputer-readable storage medium may also include a punch card, papertape, optical mark sheet (or any other physical medium with patterns ofholes or other optically recognizable indicia), compact disc read onlymemory (CD-ROM), compact disc-rewritable (CD-RW), digital versatile disc(DVD), Blu-ray disc (BD), any other non-transitory optical medium,and/or the like. Such a non-volatile computer-readable storage mediummay also include read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory(PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electricallyerasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory (e.g.,Serial, NAND, NOR, and/or the like), multimedia memory cards (MMC),secure digital (SD) memory cards, SmartMedia cards, CompactFlash (CF)cards, Memory Sticks, and/or the like. Further, a non-volatilecomputer-readable storage medium may also include conductive-bridgingrandom access memory (CBRAM), phase-change random access memory (PRAM),ferroelectric random-access memory (FeRAM), non-volatile random-accessmemory (NVRAM), magnetoresistive random-access memory (MRAM), resistiverandom-access memory (RRAM), Silicon-Oxide-Nitride-Oxide-Silicon memory(SONOS), floating junction gate random access memory (FJG RAM),Millipede memory, racetrack memory, and/or the like.

In one embodiment, a volatile computer-readable storage medium mayinclude random access memory (RAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM),static random access memory (SRAM), fast page mode dynamic random accessmemory (FPM DRAM), extended data-out dynamic random access memory (EDODRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double datarate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), double datarate type two synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR2 SDRAM),double data rate type three synchronous dynamic random access memory(DDR3 SDRAM), Rambus dynamic random access memory (RDRAM), TwinTransistor RAM (TTRAM), Thyristor RAM (T-RAM), Zero-capacitor (Z-RAM),Rambus in-line memory module (RIMM), dual in-line memory module (DIMM),single in-line memory module (SIMM), video random access memory (VRAM),cache memory (including various levels), flash memory, register memory,and/or the like. It will be appreciated that where embodiments aredescribed to use a computer-readable storage medium, other types ofcomputer-readable storage media may be substituted for or used inaddition to the computer-readable storage media described above.

As should be appreciated, various embodiments of the present inventionmay also be implemented as methods, apparatus, systems, computingdevices, computing entities, and/or the like. As such, embodiments ofthe present invention may take the form of an apparatus, system,computing device, computing entity, and/or the like executinginstructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium to performcertain steps or operations. However, embodiments of the presentinvention may also take the form of an entirely hardware embodimentperforming certain steps or operations.

Embodiments of the present invention are described below with referenceto block diagrams and flowchart illustrations. Thus, it should beunderstood that each block of the block diagrams and flowchartillustrations may be implemented in the form of a computer programproduct, an entirely hardware embodiment, a combination of hardware andcomputer program products, and/or apparatus, systems, computing devices,computing entities, and/or the like carrying out instructions,operations, steps, and similar words used interchangeably (e.g., theexecutable instructions, instructions for execution, program code,and/or the like) on a computer-readable storage medium for execution.For example, retrieval, loading, and execution of code may be performedsequentially such that one instruction is retrieved, loaded, andexecuted at a time. In some exemplary embodiments, retrieval, loading,and/or execution may be performed in parallel such that multipleinstructions are retrieved, loaded, and/or executed together. Thus, suchembodiments can produce specifically-configured machines performing thesteps or operations specified in the block diagrams and flowchartillustrations. Accordingly, the block diagrams and flowchartillustrations support various combinations of embodiments for performingthe specified instructions, operations, or steps.

II. Exemplary System Architecture

A. System Overview

FIG. 1 illustrates an overview of a system 10 configured to load itemsaccording to an example embodiment. It should be understood that thesystem depicted in FIG. 1 is merely one example configuration of asystem for loading items and that many other configurations arepossible. As illustrated, the exemplary system 10 may include one ormore conveying systems 5, one or more loading stations 30, once or morecarrier systems 100, one or more mobile computing entities 105, and oneor more delivery vehicles 400. The loading stations 30 may include adata capture device 32, a user interface 34 and a label printer (notshown). In addition, the one or more carrier systems 100 may receiveinformation from the data capture devices for tracking and otherpurposes. In addition, the one or more carrier systems 100 may alsoprovide handling instructions regarding the appropriate delivery vehicle40 and storage location for placement of a particular item. Variouscomponents of the system may communicate via network 90.

As will be recognized, an item 2 may be a parcel or group of parcels, apackage or group of packages, scrap metal banded together, a vehiclepart, a box, a crate, a drum, a box strapped to a pallet, and/or thelike. In one embodiment, each item may include an item/shipmentidentifier, such as a barcode, a MaxiCode, electronic representation,and/or text (e.g., alphanumeric text). The unique item/shipmentidentifier (e.g., 123456789) may be used by the carrier to identify andtrack the item as it moves through the carrier's transportation network.Such item/shipment identifiers can be affixed to items by, for example,using a sticker (e.g., label) with the unique item/shipment identifierprinted thereon (in human and/or machine readable form) or an RFID tagwith the unique item/shipment identifier stored therein. In addition tothe item/shipment identifier, the label or RFID tag may also includeother shipping information such as a destination address which may alsobe captured.

Generally described, items are received at a loading station 30 whereidentification data may be captured for each item and handlinginstructions may be generated. In some embodiments, a label havingindicia associated with the item may be generated and affixed to theitem. The items may then be deposited through an access door into thevehicle identified in the handling instructions. Once the items areloaded into the access door, an automated load/unload device may depositthe item in the appropriate storage location. Provided below is a moredetailed discussion of aspects of various embodiments.

B. Exemplary Conveying System

The conveying system 5 may be any device or accumulation of devices formoving items. For example, the conveying system 5 could be a series ofbelts, conveyors, and/or shoots that divert items from a sorting and/orreceiving location to a loading station 30. Other embodiments mayinclude moving a plurality of items in batches via pallets, boxes, binsor other devices. For example, items may be consolidated based on avariety of criteria, for example, destination addresses within athreshold area, assignment to (1) the same delivery vehicle, (2) thesame loading station, (3) the same shelf in the vehicle 400, and thelike. The consolidation may occur at the loading station 30 or atupstream processes with the items being disposed into a container. Thus,the items would be processed as a group as opposed to being processedindividually (e.g., sorted, moved to a loading station, loaded into thevehicle via the access door, deposited automatically deposited at theappropriate storage location, etc.). In various embodiments, items boundfor a particular neighborhood, apartment complex, shopping center andthe like may be consolidated into a single container. As used herein,the terms “item” and “container of items” are interchangeable.

C. Exemplary Loading Stations

Items received at a facility may be conveyed by the conveying system 5to one or more loading stations 30. In various embodiments, the loadingstation 30 includes a data capture device 32, a user interface 34, aprinter (not shown) and/or a mobile computing entity 105. The mobilecomputing entity 105 may include a data capture device and a userinterface. The data capture device 32 may be a barcode or MaxiCodescanning device, an RFID interrogator, a camera, or other data capturedevice.

The data capture device 32, user interface 34, printer, mobile computingentity 105 and one or more carrier systems 100 may be in electroniccommunication with, for example, one another over the network 90 whichmay be the same or different wireless or wired networks including, forexample, a wired or wireless Personal Area Network (PAN), Local AreaNetwork (LAN), Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), Wide Area Network (WAN),or the like.

In various embodiments, the user interface 34 (and/or mobile computingentity 105) may include a display device/input device for receiving anddisplaying data may also be included in or associated with the carriersystem 100. The display device/input device may be, for example, akeyboard or pointing device that is used in combination with a monitor.

In one embodiment, the data capture device 32 (and/or mobile computingentity 105) scans or reads the item/shipment identifier and otherappropriate information (e.g., location and time of the scan or reading)and communicates the information to the one or more carrier systems 100.

Using the captured information, the one or more carrier systems 100provides handling instructions to the loading personnel via the userinterface 34 and/or mobile computing entity 105. As will be discussed ingreater detail below, the handling instructions may include a vehicleidentifier and a storage location identifier.

In some embodiments, an item may be received at a loading station 30with a label having human-readable and or machine-readable indiciaproviding handling instructions. In this case, the loading personnel mayfollow the handing instructions and load the items into the appropriatevehicle accordingly (e.g., a label applied upstream of the loadingstation 30). In further embodiments, the data capture device 32 (and/ormobile computing entity 105) may scan/read machine-readable indicia fromthe label to retrieve the instructions (e.g., a label applied at thereceiving station, a shipping label, etc.). In this case, theinstructions may be communicated to the loading personnel via the userinterface 34 (and/or mobile computing entity 105).

Moreover, in various embodiments, the loading station 30 may comprise anitem buffer configured to store one or more items after being receivedat the loading station but before being loaded into an appropriatevehicle. Thus, such item buffer may accommodate a plurality of itemsreceived by the loading station 30 in rapid succession such that theitems are not loaded into an appropriate vehicle before a subsequentitem is received.

D. Exemplary Carrier System

FIG. 3 provides a schematic of a carrier system 100 according to anembodiment of the present invention. In general, the terms computingentity, entity, device, system, and/or similar words used hereininterchangeably may refer to, for example, one or more computers,computing entities, mobile phones, desktops, tablets, notebooks,laptops, distributed systems, gaming consoles (e.g., Xbox, Play Station,Wii), watches, glasses, key fobs, RFID tags, ear pieces, scanners,cameras, wristbands, kiosks, input terminals, servers or servernetworks, blades, gateways, switches, processing devices, processingentities, set-top boxes, relays, routers, network access points, basestations, the like, and/or any combination of devices or entitiesadapted to perform the functions, operations, and/or processes describedherein. Such functions, operations, and/or processes may include, forexample, transmitting, receiving, operating on, processing, displaying,storing, determining, creating/generating, monitoring, evaluating,comparing, and/or similar terms used herein interchangeably. In oneembodiment, these functions, operations, and/or processes can beperformed on information/data, content, information, and/or similarterms used herein interchangeably.

As indicated, in one embodiment, the carrier system 100 may also includeone or more communications interfaces 320 for communicating with variouscomputing entities, such as by communicating information/data, content,information, and/or similar terms used herein interchangeably that canbe transmitted, received, operated on, processed, displayed, stored,and/or the like. For instance, the carrier system 100 may communicatewith vehicles 400, mobile computing entities 105, and/or the like.

As shown in FIG. 3, in one embodiment, the carrier system 100 mayinclude or be in communication with one or more processing elements 305(also referred to as processors, processing circuitry, and/or similarterms used herein interchangeably) that communicate with other elementswithin the carrier system 100 via a bus, for example. As will beunderstood, the processing element 305 may be embodied in a number ofdifferent ways. For example, the processing element 305 may be embodiedas one or more complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs),microprocessors, multi-core processors, coprocessing entities,application-specific instruction-set processors (ASIPs), and/orcontrollers. Further, the processing element 305 may be embodied as oneor more other processing devices or circuitry. The term circuitry mayrefer to an entirely hardware embodiment or a combination of hardwareand computer program products. Thus, the processing element 305 may beembodied as integrated circuits, application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmablelogic arrays (PLAs), hardware accelerators, other circuitry, and/or thelike. As will therefore be understood, the processing element 305 may beconfigured for a particular use or configured to execute instructionsstored in volatile or non-volatile media or otherwise accessible to theprocessing element 305. As such, whether configured by hardware orcomputer program products, or by a combination thereof, the processingelement 305 may be capable of performing steps or operations accordingto embodiments of the present invention when configured accordingly.

In one embodiment, the carrier system 100 may further include or be incommunication with non-volatile media (also referred to as non-volatilestorage, memory, memory storage, memory circuitry and/or similar termsused herein interchangeably). In one embodiment, the non-volatilestorage or memory may include one or more non-volatile storage or memorymedia 310 as described above, such as hard disks, ROM, PROM, EPROM,EEPROM, flash memory, MMCs, SD memory cards, Memory Sticks, CBRAM, PRAM,FeRAM, RRAM, SONOS, racetrack memory, and/or the like. As will berecognized, the non-volatile storage or memory media may storedatabases, database instances, database management system entities,information/data, applications, programs, program modules, scripts,source code, object code, byte code, compiled code, interpreted code,machine code, executable instructions, and/or the like. The termdatabase, database instance, database management system entity, and/orsimilar terms used herein interchangeably may refer to a structuredcollection of records or data that is stored in a computer-readablestorage medium, such as via a relational database, hierarchicaldatabase, and/or network database.

In one embodiment, the carrier system 100 may further include or be incommunication with volatile media (also referred to as volatile storage,memory, memory storage, memory circuitry and/or similar terms usedherein interchangeably). In one embodiment, the volatile storage ormemory may also include one or more volatile storage or memory media 315as described above, such as RAM, DRAM, SRAM, FPM DRAM, EDO DRAM, SDRAM,DDR SDRAM, DDR2 SDRAM, DDR3 SDRAM, RDRAM, RIMM, DIMM, SIMM, VRAM, cachememory, register memory, and/or the like. As will be recognized, thevolatile storage or memory media may be used to store at least portionsof the databases, database instances, database management systementities, information/data, applications, programs, program modules,scripts, source code, object code, byte code, compiled code, interpretedcode, machine code, executable instructions, and/or the like beingexecuted by, for example, the processing element 305. Thus, thedatabases, database instances, database management system entities,information/data, applications, programs, program modules, scripts,source code, object code, byte code, compiled code, interpreted code,machine code, executable instructions, and/or the like may be used tocontrol certain aspects of the operation of the carrier system 100 withthe assistance of the processing element 305, an operating system, and amapping/routing platform.

As indicated, in one embodiment, the carrier system 100 may also includeone or more communications interfaces 320 for communicating with variouscomputing entities, such as by communicating information/data, content,information, and/or similar terms used herein interchangeably that canbe transmitted, received, operated on, processed, displayed, stored,and/or the like. For instance, the carrier system 100 may communicatewith computing entities or communication interfaces of the vehicle 400,mobile computing entities 105, and/or the like.

Such communication may be executed using a wired data transmissionprotocol, such as fiber distributed data interface (FDDI), digitalsubscriber line (DSL), Ethernet, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), framerelay, data over cable service interface specification (DOCSIS), or anyother wired transmission protocol. Similarly, the carrier system 100 maybe configured to communicate via wireless external communicationnetworks using any of a variety of protocols, such as GPRS, UMTS,CDMA2000, 1×RTT, WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, LTE, E-UTRAN, EVDO, HSPA, HSDPA,Wi-Fi, WiMAX, UWB, IR protocols, Bluetooth protocols, USB protocols,and/or any other wireless protocol. Although not shown, the carriersystem 100 may include or be in communication with one or more inputelements, such as a keyboard input, a mouse input, a touchscreen/display input, audio input, pointing device input, joystickinput, keypad input, and/or the like. The carrier system 100 may alsoinclude or be in communication with one or more output elements (notshown), such as audio output, video output, screen/display output,motion output, movement output, and/or the like.

The carrier system 100 may also comprise, be associated with, or be incommunication with various other systems, such as a mapping/routingplatform, an Address Matching System (AMS), a Package Center InformationSystem (PCIS), a Customized Pickup and Delivery System (CPAD), adispatch management system (DMS), preload assist system (PAS), CustomerAction and Response System (CAReS), Dispatch Planning System (DPS),dispatch download system (e.g., for downloading delivery sequence tomobile devices) and a variety of other systems and their correspondingcomponents all referred to herein individually and/or collectively asthe mapping/routing computing entity. Thus, as will be appreciated, oneor more of the mapping/routing computing entity's components may belocated remotely from other carrier system 100 components, such as in adistributed system. Furthermore, one or more of the components may becombined and additional components performing functions described hereinmay be included in the mapping/routing computing entity. Thus, thecarrier system 100 can be adapted to accommodate a variety of needs andcircumstances.

E. Exemplary Mobile Computing Entity

FIG. 4 provides an illustrative schematic representative of a mobilecomputing entity 105 that can be used in conjunction with embodiments ofthe present invention. In one embodiment, the mobile computing entities105 may include one or more components that are functionally similar tothose of the carrier system 100 and/or as described below. As will berecognized, mobile computing entities 105 can be operated by variousparties, including operators of vehicles 400. As shown in FIG. 4, amobile computing entity 105 can include an antenna 412, a transmitter404 (e.g., radio), a receiver 406 (e.g., radio), and a processingelement 408 that provides signals to and receives signals from thetransmitter 404 and receiver 406, respectively.

The signals provided to and received from the transmitter 404 and thereceiver 406, respectively, may include signaling data in accordancewith an air interface standard of applicable wireless systems tocommunicate with various entities, such as vehicles 400, mapping/routingcomputing entities, and/or the like. In this regard, the mobilecomputing entity 105 may be capable of operating with one or more airinterface standards, communication protocols, modulation types, andaccess types. More particularly, the mobile computing entity 105 mayoperate in accordance with any of a number of wireless communicationstandards and protocols. In a particular embodiment, the mobilecomputing entity 105 may operate in accordance with multiple wirelesscommunication standards and protocols, such as GPRS, UMTS, CDMA2000,1×RTT, WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, LTE, E-UTRAN, EVDO, HSPA, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, WiMAX,UWB, IR protocols, Bluetooth protocols, USB protocols, and/or any otherwireless protocol.

Via these communication standards and protocols, the mobile computingentity 105 can communicate with various other entities using conceptssuch as Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), Short MessageService (SMS), Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), Dual-ToneMulti-Frequency Signaling (DTMF), and/or Subscriber Identity ModuleDialer (SIM dialer). The mobile computing entity 105 can also downloadchanges, add-ons, and updates, for instance, to its firmware, software(e.g., including executable instructions, applications, programmodules), operating system, and mapping/routing platform.

According to one embodiment, the mobile computing entity 105 may includelocation determining aspects, devices, modules, functionalities, and/orsimilar words used herein interchangeably. For example, the mobilecomputing entity 105 may include outdoor positioning aspects, such as alocation module adapted to acquire, for example, latitude, longitude,altitude, geocode, course, direction, heading, speed, UTC, date, and/orvarious other information/data. In one embodiment, the location modulecan acquire information/data, sometimes known as ephemerisinformation/data, by identifying the number of satellites in view andthe relative positions of those satellites. The satellites may be avariety of different satellites, including LEO satellite systems, DODsatellite systems, the European Union Galileo positioning systems, theChinese Compass navigation systems, Indian Regional Navigationalsatellite systems, and/or the like. Alternatively, the locationinformation/data may be determined/identified by triangulating themobile computing entity's 105 position in connection with a variety ofother systems, including cellular towers, Wi-Fi access points, and/orthe like. Similarly, the mobile computing entity 105 may include indoorpositioning aspects, such as a location module adapted to acquire, forexample, latitude, longitude, altitude, geocode, course, direction,heading, speed, time, date, and/or various other information/data. Someof the indoor aspects may use various position or location technologiesincluding RFID tags, indoor beacons or transmitters, Wi-Fi accesspoints, cellular towers, nearby computing devices (e.g., smartphones,laptops) and/or the like. For instance, such technologies may includeiBeacons, Gimbal proximity beacons, BLE transmitters, Near FieldCommunication (NFC) transmitters, and/or the like. These indoorpositioning aspects can be used in a variety of settings todetermine/identify the location of someone or something to within inchesor centimeters.

The mobile computing entity 105 may also comprise a user interface (thatcan include a display 416 coupled to a processing element 408) and/or auser input interface (coupled to a processing element 408). For example,the user interface may be an application, browser, user interface,dashboard, webpage, and/or similar words used herein interchangeablyexecuting on and/or accessible via the mobile computing entity 105 tointeract with and/or cause display of information. The user inputinterface can comprise any of a number of devices allowing the mobilecomputing entity 105 to receive information/data, such as a keypad 418(hard or soft), a touch display, voice/speech or motion interfaces,scanners, readers, or other input device. In embodiments including akeypad 418, the keypad 418 can include (or cause display of) theconventional numeric (0-9) and related keys (#, *), and other keys usedfor operating the mobile computing entity 105 and may include a full setof alphabetic keys or set of keys that may be activated to provide afull set of alphanumeric keys. In addition to providing input, the userinput interface can be used, for example, to activate or deactivatecertain functions, such as screen savers and/or sleep modes. Throughsuch inputs the mobile computing entity can collect contextualinformation/data as part of the telematics information/data.

The mobile computing entity 105 can also include volatile storage ormemory 422 and/or non-volatile storage or memory 424, which can beembedded and/or may be removable. For example, the non-volatile memorymay be ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, MMCs, SD memory cards,Memory Sticks, CBRAM, PRAM, FeRAM, RRAM, SONOS, racetrack memory, and/orthe like. The volatile memory may be RAM, DRAM, SRAM, FPM DRAM, EDODRAM, SDRAM, DDR SDRAM, DDR2 SDRAM, DDR3 SDRAM, RDRAM, RIMM, DIMM, SIMM,VRAM, cache memory, register memory, and/or the like. The volatile andnon-volatile storage or memory can store databases, database instances,database management system entities, information/data, applications,programs, program modules, scripts, source code, object code, byte code,compiled code, interpreted code, machine code, executable instructions,and/or the like to implement the functions of the mobile computingentity 105.

F. Exemplary Delivery Vehicles

In various embodiments, the term vehicle 400 is used generically. Forexample, a vehicle 400 may be a tractor, a truck, a car, a trailer, atractor and trailer combination, a van, a flatbed truck, a vehicle,drone, airplane, helicopter, and/or any other form of object for movingor transporting people and/or items (e.g., one or more packages,parcels, bags, containers, loads, crates, items banded together, vehicleparts, pallets, drums, the like, and/or similar words used hereininterchangeably). Although in certain embodiments, the vehicle may beunmanned. In one embodiment, each vehicle 400 may be associated with aunique vehicle identifier (such as a vehicle ID) that uniquelyidentifies the vehicle 400. The unique vehicle ID (e.g., trailer ID,tractor ID, vehicle ID, and/or the like) may include characters, such asnumbers, letters, symbols, and/or the like. For example, an alphanumericvehicle ID (e.g., “AS445”) may be associated with each vehicle 400. Inanother embodiment, the unique vehicle ID may be the license plate,registration number, or other identifying information assigned to thevehicle 400.

FIG. 4 shows one or more computing entities, devices, and/or similarwords used herein interchangeably that are associated with the vehicle400, such as a data collection device 130 or other computing entities.In general, the terms computing entity, entity, device, system, and/orsimilar words used herein interchangeably may refer to, for example, oneor more computers, computing entities, mobile phones, desktops, tablets,notebooks, laptops, distributed systems, gaming consoles (e.g., Xbox,Play Station, Wii), watches, televisions, dongles, glasses, key fobs,radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, ear pieces, scanners,cameras, wristbands, kiosks, input terminals, servers or servernetworks, blades, gateways, switches, processing devices, processingentities, set-top boxes, relays, routers, network access points, basestations, the like, and/or any combination of devices or entitiesadapted to perform the functions, operations, and/or processes describedherein. FIG. 4 provides a block diagram of an exemplary data collectiondevice 130 that may be attached, affixed, disposed upon, integratedinto, or part of a vehicle 400. The data collection device 130 maycollect telematics data (including location data) and transmit/send thedata to the mobile computing entity 105 and/or various other computingentities via one of several communication methods.

In one embodiment, the data collection device 130 may include, beassociated with, or be in communication with one or more processors 200(various exemplary processors are described in greater detail below),one or more location-determining devices or one or more location sensors120 (e.g., Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) sensors), one ormore telematics sensors 125, one or more real-time clocks 215, a J-Busprotocol architecture, one or more electronic control modules (ECM) 245,one or more communication ports 230 for receiving telematics data fromvarious sensors (e.g., via a CAN-bus), one or more communication ports205 for transmitting/sending data, one or more RFID tags/sensors 250,one or more power sources 220, one or more data radios 235 forcommunication with a variety of communication networks, one or morememory modules 210, and one or more programmable logic controllers (PLC)225. It should be noted that many of these components may be located inthe vehicle 400 but external to the data collection device 130.

In one embodiment, the one or more location sensors 120, modules, orsimilar words used herein interchangeably may be one of severalcomponents in communication with or available to the data collectiondevice 130. Moreover, the one or more location sensors 120 may becompatible with GPS satellites 115, such as Low Earth Orbit (LEO)satellite systems, Department of Defense (DOD) satellite systems, theEuropean Union Galileo positioning systems, the Chinese Compassnavigation systems, Indian Regional Navigational satellite systems,and/or the like. This data can be collected using a variety ofcoordinate systems, such as the Decimal Degrees (DD); Degrees, Minutes,Seconds (DMS); Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM); Universal PolarStereographic (UPS) coordinate systems; and/or the like. Alternatively,triangulation may be used in connection with a device associated with aparticular vehicle and/or the vehicle's operator and with variouscommunication points (e.g., cellular towers or Wi-Fi access points)positioned at various locations throughout a geographic area to monitorthe location of the vehicle 400 and/or its operator. The one or morelocation sensors 120 may be used to receive latitude, longitude,altitude, heading or direction, geocode, course, position, time, and/orspeed data (e.g., referred to herein as telematics data and furtherdescribed herein below). The one or more location sensors 120 may alsocommunicate with the mapping computing entity, the data collectiondevice 130, mobile computing entity 105, and/or similar computingentities.

As indicated, in addition to the one or more location sensors 120, thedata collection device 130 may include and/or be associated with one ormore telematics sensors 125, modules, and/or similar words used hereininterchangeably. For example, the telematics sensors 125 may includevehicle sensors, such as engine, fuel, odometer, hubometer, tirepressure, location, weight, emissions, door, and speed sensors. Thetelematics data may include, but is not limited to, speed data,emissions data, RPM data, tire pressure data, oil pressure data, seatbelt usage data, distance data, fuel data, idle data, and/or the like(e.g., referred to herein as telematics data). The telematics sensors125 may include environmental sensors, such as air quality sensors,temperature sensors, and/or the like. Thus, the telematics data may alsoinclude carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides(SOx), Ethylene Oxide (EtO), ozone (O₃), hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) and/orammonium (NH₄) data, and/or meteorological data (e.g., referred toherein as telematics data).

In one embodiment, the ECM 245 may be one of several components incommunication with and/or available to the data collection device 130.The ECM 245, which may be a scalable and subservient device to the datacollection device 130, may have data processing capability to decode andstore analog and digital inputs from vehicle systems and sensors. TheECM 245 may further have data processing capability to collect andpresent telematics data to the J-Bus (which may allow transmission tothe data collection device 130), and output standard vehicle diagnosticcodes when received from a vehicle's J-Bus-compatible on-boardcontrollers 240 and/or sensors.

As indicated, a communication port 230 may be one of several componentsavailable in the data collection device 130 (or be in or as a separatecomputing entity). Embodiments of the communication port 230 may includean Infrared data Association (IrDA) communication port, a data radio,and/or a serial port. The communication port 230 may receiveinstructions for the data collection device 130. These instructions maybe specific to the vehicle 400 in which the data collection device 130is installed, specific to the geographic area in which the vehicle 400will be traveling, specific to the function the vehicle 400 serveswithin a fleet, and/or the like. In one embodiment, the data radio 235may be configured to communicate with a wireless wide area network(WWAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), wireless personal areanetwork (WPAN), or any combination thereof. For example, the data radio235 may communicate via various wireless protocols, such as 802.11,general packet radio service (GPRS), Universal Mobile TelecommunicationsSystem (UMTS), Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (CDMA2000), CDMA20001× (1×RTT), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), TimeDivision-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA), Long TermEvolution (LTE), Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network(E-UTRAN), Evolution-Data Optimized (EVDO), High Speed Packet Access(HSPA), High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi),802.16 (WiMAX), ultra wideband (UWB), infrared (IR) protocols, Bluetoothprotocols (including Bluetooth low energy (BLE)), wireless universalserial bus (USB) protocols, and/or any other wireless protocol.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate an exemplary delivery vehicle 400. In theillustrated embodiment, the cargo area 410 comprises an access port 415,a bulkhead 417 separating a driver area from the cargo area 410, adriver side wall 420 and a passenger side wall 430. The cargo area 410includes a plurality of storage locations configured to receive itemsfor transport. The storage areas may include one or more bins, shelvesand/or the like configured to store items. The illustrated embodimentincludes 12 shelves (six on each side of the cargo area 410) but otherembodiments may include more or less shelves/bins.

In various embodiments, the storage locations may comprise rollers,powered rollers, conveyor belts or the like that are configured to biasitems toward the outer wall of the vehicle 400 and/or towards the centerof the vehicle 400. These devices may be selectively activated by thecontroller 140 to either position items toward the outer wall of thevehicle 400 and/or towards the center of the vehicle 400 as desired.

The vehicle 400 may also be equipped with an automated load/unloaddevice 460. In various embodiments, the automated load/unload device 460is configured to capture items and move the item to and from storagelocations within the vehicle 400. In one embodiment, the automatedload/unload device 460 comprises a turntable robot that includes aplatform 462 configured to receive an item operatively connected to abase 464. The platform 462 may be raised or lowered relative to the base464 using a scissor lift, rack and pinion, ball screw or other liftingmechanism. The platform may also include one or more powered rollers466, conveyor belts or the like to convey items onto and off of theplatform 462. In some embodiments, the platform 462 may tilt to conveyan item. As noted, the platform 462 may also be configured to rotate toreceive/deposit items in a plurality of directions.

In some embodiments, the automated load/unload device moves fore and aftwithin the vehicle cargo 410 area via one or more rails. The automatedload/unload device may use a gear drive, friction wheels with motor orthe like to move along the rails. In other embodiments, tracks,recesses, and the like may be used to facilitate movement of the robotwithin the vehicle cargo bay.

In further embodiments, the automated load/unload device 460 may be anarticulated robot arm that includes a gripping mechanism for graspingitems and depositing the items at the appropriate position. The robotarm may be mounted on a base that travels fore and aft within thevehicle to facilitate access to at least a portion of the storagelocations. In other embodiments, the range of motion of the robot armmay be sufficient to reach the access port and the desired storagelocations. In still further embodiments, a conveyor may be positionedwithin the vehicle 400 to transport items from the access port 415 towithin the travel of the articulated robot arm.

The automated load/unload device 460 and the storage locations may beactivated/controlled by a controller 140 mounted within the vehicle 400.The controller 140 may be in wired or wireless communication with thestorage locations and the automated load/unload device 460 to provideactivation signs and position instructions. In various embodiments, thecontroller 140 stores the identification of the items, where the itemsare positioned within the vehicle and when they are removed from thevehicle. The controller 140 may also record the physical location of thevehicle (e.g., GPS location) when an item is positioned within thevehicle and/or when the vehicle is removed from the vehicle. Finally,the controller 140 may also monitor the status of the storage locations(e.g., occupied, empty).

G. Exemplary Controller 140

In one embodiment, the controller 140 may include one or more componentsthat are functionally similar to those of the mobile computing entity105. For example, in one embodiment, the controller 140 may include: (1)a processing element that communicates with other elements via a systeminterface or bus; (2) a user interface; (3) transitory andnon-transitory memory; and (4) a communications interface. As previouslynoted, the controller 140 may comprise a user interface. For example,the user interface may be an application, browser, user interface,dashboard, webpage, and/or similar words used herein interchangeablyexecuting on and/or accessible via the controller 140 to interact withand/or cause display of information from the carrier server 100 and/orthe mobile computing entity 105, as described herein. Thesearchitectures are provided for exemplary purposes only and are notlimiting to the various embodiments.

III. Exemplary Methods of Operation

Having thus provided an overview of components which may be included ina system for loading/unloading items according to various embodiments,attention is now directed to FIGS. 7-11, which depict steps that may beperformed in accordance with various embodiments.

A. Depositing Items into Vehicles Based on Delivery Sequence

FIG. 7 illustrates steps that may be performed in accordance withvarious embodiments to assign and load items onto a vehicle 400. Theprocess begins at Block 600 where an item is received at a loadingstation 30. At Block 610, the associated shipping indicia are captured.In various embodiments, the shipping indicia include item/shipmentidentifier and/or destination address information. The captured shippingindicia are transmitted to the one or more carrier systems 100. The oneor more carrier systems 100 identify destination information (eithercaptured or determined using the item/shipment identifier) and comparethe destination address against a dispatch plan to determine whichroute/vehicle is assigned to deliver to the destination address at Step620. In some embodiments, the destination address may be captured andsent to the one or more carrier systems 100 in addition to or in placeof the item/shipment unique identifier.

After identifying the route/vehicle, the one or more carrier systems 100may then generate a handling instruction identifying the appropriateroute/vehicle and a storage location on the vehicle for the item atBlock 630. To identify the appropriate storage location, the one or morecarrier systems 100 may divide the route according to the number ofshelving units assigned to the route. Assuming the vehicle has 12shelves, the route would be divided into twelve sequential segments.Items to be delivered during the first segment may be assigned, forexample, to a particular shelf for the route (e.g., top ForwardDriver-side location) and items assigned to the second sequentialsegment may be assigned to a second shelf (e.g., middle ForwardDriver-side location). The associated item IDs would then be linked orotherwise associated with the appropriate shelf location by the one ormore carrier systems 100. The sequential segments may be similarlydivided by the number of storage locations on the shelf. The one or morecarrier systems 100 may assign the items to the storage locationaccording to the order in which they may be delivered. The shelves mayhave dividers separating the different storage locations.

In various embodiments, the handing instructions may be communicated viaa label at Step 650. The handling instruction may be communicated via alabel generated and affixed to the item, an instruction provided on themobile computing entity 105, a visual indicator proximate theappropriate vehicle (e.g., a light) or the like. In one embodiment, thelabel may be generated at the loading station 30 or in an upstreamprocess. The label may include indicia communicating the vehicle ID, theshelf and/or a storage location. Other information on the label mayinclude a package tracking number, primary and secondary packagesortation information, a commit time and an irregular drop-offindicator.

In one embodiment, an order is set in a dispatch plan and takes intoaccount the direction a driver will be delivering for a particularstreet range. The commit time indicator on the label may indicate when apackage is committed for delivery at a particular time. The commit timemay be based on the service level desired by the customer, such as forexample Next Day Air, Second Day Air or Ground. The irregular drop-offindicator on the label may indicate the location in the facility whereirregular items are sorted manually. Irregular items are typically toolarge or too heavy or shaped in such a way that they cannot be placed ona sortation belt. A more detailed discussion of possible loading schemesthat could be used for a shelf is described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,068,930,which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

At Block 660, a loading operator retrieves the item from the conveyingsystem 5 and deposits the item into the appropriate vehicle 400 via thevehicle access port 415. In some embodiments, the item is placeddirectly onto a platform of the automated load/unload device 460 insidethe vehicle 400 (e.g., including an item buffer). In other embodiments,the item may be placed on a separate platform or conveyor that positionsthe item within reach of the automated load/unload device 460 (e.g.,including an item buffer).

At Block 670, the appropriate storage location is determined andcommunicated to/captured by the controller 140. In some embodiments, thevehicle 400 includes a data capture device 450 which captures indiciafrom the item. The indicia may include the handling instruction, theunique identifier for the item, a destination address, and/or otherinformation. Using this captured information, the controller 140identifies (by itself or in conjunction with the carrier system 100)where the item is to be positioned. In some embodiments, the controller140 communicates with the data capture device 32 and/or the mobilecomputing entity 105 at the loading station 30 and receives the storagelocation identification as opposed to using information captured by datacapture device 450. In this embodiment, the controller recognizes whenthe item is placed into the vehicle via a light curtain, proximityswitch on the platform or the automated load/unload device 460 and thenassociates the received storage location with the item.

After acquiring the storage location, the controller 140 sends anactuation signal to the automated load/unload device 460 to position theitem onto the appropriate storage location. For example, if the capturedindicia include the handling instructions with a storage locationidentifier, the controller 140 will send a signal to the automatedload/unload device 460 to move to the appropriate location (i.e.fore/aft to the appropriate location and up/down relative to theappropriate storage location) and deposit the item at the appropriatelocation. In some embodiments, the controller 140 will also send asignal to the appropriate storage location to initiate movement of theassociated power rollers/conveyors to receive the item and bias the itemagainst the associated side wall of the vehicle 400. In variousembodiments, the controller 140 stores the location of the item inmemory for later retrieval when the item is to be delivered. Afterpositioning the item onto the appropriate location, the automatedload/unload device 460 may return to its home position, ready toposition an additional item.

B. Depositing Items into Vehicles Based on Item Characteristics

In a further embodiment, the loading scheme may be based oncharacteristics of the item as opposed to the sequence of delivery ofthe item. Similar to previous embodiments, the process begins at Block700 in FIG. 8 where an item is received at a loading station 30 (e.g.,including an item buffer). At Block 710, the associated shipping indiciaare captured. In various embodiments, the shipping indicia may includeitem/shipment identifier and/or destination address information. Thecaptured shipping indicia are transmitted to the one or more carriersystems 100. The one or more carrier systems 100 identifies destinationinformation (either captured or determined using the item/shipmentidentifier) and compares the destination address against a dispatch planto determine which route/vehicle is assigned to deliver to thedestination address at Step 720. In some embodiments, the destinationaddress may be captured and sent to the one or more carrier systems 100in addition to or in place of the item/shipment unique identifier.

After identifying the route/vehicle, the one or more carrier systems 100may then generate a handling instruction identifying the appropriateroute/vehicle at Block 730 which is then communicated to the loadpersonnel at Block 740. The handling instruction may be communicated viaa label generated and affixed to the item, an instruction provide on themobile computing entity 105, a visual indicator proximate theappropriate vehicle (e.g., a light) or the like.

At Block 750, the load personnel deposit the item into the identifiedvehicle 400 via the vehicle access port 415 (e.g., including an itembuffer). In some embodiments, the item is placed directly onto aplatform of the automated load/unload device inside the vehicle 400. Inother embodiments, the item may be placed on a separate platform orconveyor that positions the item within reach of the automatedload/unload device 460.

At Block 760, the controller 140 determines characteristics of the item.In some embodiments, a data capture device 450 associated with thevehicle 400 captures indicia from the item. The indicia may includeidentification of characteristics of the items (e.g., dimensions,weight, fragile, etc.). In other embodiments, the data capture device450 captures a unique identifier associated with the item which iscommunicated to the controller 140. The controller 140 then communicateswith the carrier systems 100 to obtain characteristics of the item thatmay be stored in a record associated with the captured indicia. In someembodiments, characteristic of the items bound for the particularvehicle may be downloaded to the controller 140 prior to loading items,in which case the controller 140 may determine characteristics of theitem without further communication with the carrier systems 100. Infurther embodiments, the vehicle 400 may include a dimensioning deviceand/or weighing device to determine characteristics of the itemindependently. In some embodiments, characteristics are obtained frommultiple sources (e.g., stored record, captured from label, and/orindependently measured).

After the characteristics are acquired, the controller 140 determineswhere to deposit the item in the vehicle at Block 770. In variousembodiments, the cargo area 410 within the vehicle 400 may be configuredto store items of particular sizes/weights in particular locations. Forexample, some vehicles 400 may be configured with multiple storagelocations to accommodate items of a predetermined threshold sizes (e.g.,one or more dividers for each shelf, separate conveyors, and the like toseparate items). For example, a vehicle may comprise storage locationsconfigured to store small, medium, large items where each category ofitem size has an associated size threshold. In some embodiments, thecargo area 410 may include an area to accommodate irregular items thatwould not fit within the threshold sizes. The handling instruction mayidentify the storage location and/or the loading characteristics of theitem (e.g., weight, dimensions, etc.)

In various embodiments, the controller 140 and/or the carrier systems100 compares the acquired characteristics against the thresholdparameters for storage locations to determine which storage locationscould accommodate a particular item. The controller and/or carriersystems 100 also identifies storage locations having capacity to receivethe item. In various embodiments, the controller 140 and/or carriersystems 100 monitors where items are placed and can therefore identifywhich storage locations are available. In some embodiments, the storagelocations themselves have monitoring devices to indicate whether an itemis present (e.g., proximity switches, light curtains, and the like andcommunicate their status to the controller 140.

After an available storage location is identified for the item, thecontroller 140 sends an actuation signal to the automated load/unloaddevice 460 to position the item onto the storage location. For example,if the captured indicia include the handling instructions with a storagelocation identifier, the controller 140 will send a signal to theautomated load/unload device to move to the appropriate location (i.e.fore/aft to the appropriate location and up/down relative to theappropriate location) and deposit the item onto the appropriatelocation. In some embodiments, the controller 140 will also send asignal to the appropriate storage location to initiate movement of theassociated power rollers/conveyors to receive the item and bias the itemagainst the associated side wall of the vehicle. In various embodiments,the controller 140 stores the location of the item in memory for laterretrieval when the item is to be delivered. After positioning the itemonto the appropriate location, the automated load/unload device 460 mayreturn to a home position, ready to position an additional item.

C. Delivering Items

After the loading process is complete, the vehicle will proceed todeliver items according to the assigned route/dispatch plan. FIG. 9illustrates steps that may be performed in accordance with variousembodiments to deliver items. The process begins at Block 800 where thelocation of the vehicle 400 is monitored. In various embodiments, thevehicle 400 may include telematics devices (e.g. data collection devices130) and/or location-determining devices 120 which monitor the progressof the vehicle 400 as it delivers and picks up items along the assignedroute. The progress may be monitored based on the sequence of deliveries(e.g., first schedule delivery complete, second delivery pending, etc.)and/or based on the physical location of the vehicle (e.g., GPSlocation).

At Block 810, the controller 140 may determine the next item to bedelivered. This determination may be made in a number of different ways.For example, the controller may retain in memory a copy of the dispatchplan indicating the sequence of delivery for the items loaded onto thevehicle 400. As items are unloaded, the controller 140 may recognizewhich item is next in the delivery sequence by monitoring which itemsare retrieved from storage. Alternatively, the controller maycommunicate with the driver's mobile computing entity and/or the carriersystems 100 to determine the next delivery in the delivery sequence. Inthis case, mobile computing entity and/or the carrier systems 100 maydetermine the next item to be delivered based on the location of thevehicle and/or the progress made with respect to the sequence ofdelivery (e.g., which package was last delivered in the assigneddelivery sequence).

At Block 820, the controller 140 sends instructions to the automatedload/unload device to retrieve the next item to be delivered based on atrigger event. In some embodiments, the controller 140 sends theinstructions to the automated load/unload device 460 to retrieve thenext item following retrieval of an item from the vehicle 400 accessport 415 (e.g., a trigger event). In other embodiments, the triggeringevent may be when the vehicle 400 is within a threshold distance fromthe delivery location for an item. In some cases, the triggering eventmay be when the vehicle is stopped at the delivery location and thecontroller 140 instructs the automated load/unload device to retrievethe item associated with the location. This may be determined by thecontroller 140 based at least in part on telematics devices (e.g.,engine off, parking brake on, seat belt released, etc.), based onlocation determining devices (e.g., within threshold distance, nomovement for threshold time frame, etc.) and/or input from the drivervia the driver's mobile computing entity (e.g., driver requestingretrieval of specific item)).

In response to the instructions, the automated load/unload device 460and/or the associated storage location are activated to obtain the itemfrom the storage location at Block 830. In some embodiments, theautomated load/unload device 460 moves to a position proximate theappropriate storage location (i.e. fore/aft to the appropriate locationand up/down relative to the appropriate storage location) and retrievesthe item from the storage location. In some embodiments, the controller140 will also send a signal to the appropriate storage location toinitiate movement of associated power rollers/conveyors to urge the itemonto a platform of the automated load/unload device 460 (e.g., includingan item buffer). In other embodiments, the automated load/unload device460 grasps the item from the storage location. After the item isobtained by the automated load/unload device 460, the automatedload/unload device 460 transports the item to the vehicle access port415 at Block 840 (e.g., including an item buffer). At Block 850, adriver retrieves the item via the vehicle access port and delivers theitem to the delivery address.

D. Picking Up Items

In some cases, the driver and/or a shipper has a need to deposit itemswithin the vehicle 400. For example, a delivery attempt for a particularitem may be unsuccessful and/or a customer has a pickup which may bescheduled or unscheduled. In other embodiments, a customer may seek todeposit an item into the vehicle for delivery to a consignee. In furtherembodiments, a vehicle 400 may be parked at a predetermined location(e.g., parking lot, address, landmark, etc.) for a predetermined timeperiod for the purpose of receiving items for delivery. FIG. 10illustrates steps that may be performed in picking up and/or receivingitems in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. The process maybegin at Block 900 where the driver receives the item for placement ontothe vehicle (e.g., unsuccessful delivery, customer pickup, shipper dropoff). In many cases, the item may already have an assigned uniqueidentifier (e.g., unsuccessful delivery, customer printed shippinglabel, etc.), and the driver will capture the unique identifier using amobile computing entity 105 to indicate the item is being placed in thevehicle 400 at Block 910. In other cases, the driver may enter deliveryinformation or other identifying information into the mobile computingentity 105, which may be communicated to the controller 140 and/or thecarrier systems 100.

At Block 920, the item is deposited in the vehicle 400 via the accessport 415 (e.g., including an item buffer). In some embodiments, the itemis placed directly onto a platform of the automated load/unload device460 inside the vehicle 400 (e.g., including an item buffer). In otherembodiments, the item may be placed on a separate platform or conveyorthat positions the item within reach of the automated load/unload device460.

At Block 930, the controller 140 may determine characteristics of theitem. In some embodiments, a data capture device 450 associated with thevehicle 400 captures indicia from the item. The indicia may includeidentification of characteristics of the items (e.g., dimensions,weight, fragile, etc.). In other embodiments, the data capture device450 captures a unique identifier associated with the item which iscommunicated to the controller 140. The controller 140 then communicateswith the carrier systems 100 to obtain characteristics of the item thatmay be stored in a record associated with the captured indicia. In someembodiments, a driver may use a mobile computing entity 105 to captureinformation concerning the item (e.g., unique identifier,characteristics, etc.) and communicate this information to thecontroller 140 and/or the carrier systems 100. In a further embodiment,the vehicle 400 may include a dimensioning device and/or weighing deviceto determine characteristics of the item independently. In someembodiments, characteristics are obtained from multiple sources (e.g.,stored record, captured from label, and/or independently measured).

After the characteristics are acquired, the controller 140 determineswhere to deposit the item in the vehicle at Block 940. In variousembodiments, the cargo area 410 within the vehicle 400 may be configuredto store items of particular sizes/weights in particular locations. Forexample, some vehicles 400 may be configured with multiple storagelocations to accommodate items of a predetermined threshold sizes (e.g.,one or more dividers for each shelf, separate conveyors, and the like toseparate items). For example, a vehicle may comprise storage locationsconfigured to store small, medium, large items where each category ofitem size has an associated size threshold. In some embodiments, thecargo area 410 may include an area to accommodate irregular items thatwould not fit within the threshold sizes.

In various embodiments, the controller 140 compares the acquiredcharacteristics against the threshold parameters for storage locationsto determine which storage locations could accommodate the item at Block940. The controller 140 also identifies storage locations havingcapacity to receive the item. In various embodiments, the controller 140monitors where items are placed (and removed from) and can thereforeidentify which storage locations are available. In some embodiments, thestorage locations themselves have monitoring devices to indicate whetheran item is present (e.g., proximity switches, light curtains, and thelike). This information may be communicated back to the controller 140.

In some embodiments, a bin or shelf may be reserved for pickups and/orunsuccessfully delivered items. In this case, the controller 140 mayrecognize that the item is a pickup or unsuccessfully delivered itembased on a variety of data. For example, the controller 140 may make thedetermination based on the location of the vehicle (e.g., the vehicle ison route), input from the driver via the associated mobile computingentity and/or data associated with the unique identifier. In thesecases, picked up items are automatically assigned to the one or morebins reserved for pickups and/or unsuccessfully delivered items. In somecases, the reserved bins/shelves may accommodate multiple items.

After an available storage location is identified for the item, thecontroller 140 sends an instruction to the automated load/unload device460 to position the item onto the appropriate storage location. Forexample, the controller 140 may send a signal to the automatedload/unload device 460 to move to the appropriate location (i.e.fore/aft to the appropriate location and up/down relative to theappropriate shelf) and deposit the item onto the appropriate storagelocation. In some embodiments, the controller 140 will also send asignal to the appropriate shelf to initiate movement of the associatedpower rollers/conveyors to receive the item (e.g., urge the item intothe storage location) and bias the item against the associated side wallof the vehicle. In various embodiments, the controller 140 stores thelocation of the item in memory for later retrieval when the item is tobe removed from the vehicle. After positioning the item onto theappropriate location, the robot may return to a home position, ready toposition an additional item.

E. Rearranging Items within the Delivery Vehicle while on Route

In various embodiments, the items within the delivery vehicle 400 may berearranged as some items are delivered such that the storage locationsare used more efficiently. For example, the automated load/unload device460 may reposition the items to storage locations closer to the accessport to provide faster retrieval of items. In some embodiments, itemsmay be repositioned into storage locations that better fit the actualcharacteristics of an item.

FIG. 11 illustrates steps that may be performed to rearrange itemswithin the vehicle 400 according to various embodiments of theinvention. The exemplary process starts at Block 1000 when therepositioning process is initiated. In various embodiments, therepositioning may occur during predetermined time periods. In someembodiments, the repositioning occurs during scheduled breaks such aslunch breaks. The initiation of a lunch break may be determined based oninput from the driver into an associated mobile computing entity 105which communicates the status to the controller 140. In otherembodiments, the controller 140 may initiate repositioning of itemswhile the vehicle is between delivery stops. For example, the controller140 may be programmed to initiate repositioning of items betweenpredetermined stops based on an estimated travel time between stopsprovided in the dispatch plan. For example, if the estimated travel timebetween stops exceeds a predetermined threshold (e.g., 5 minutes, 10minutes, etc.), the controller 140 may initiate repositioning of one ormore items.

In various embodiments, the controller 140 compares the acquiredcharacteristics for items still in the cargo area 410 against thethreshold parameters for vacant storage locations at Block 1010. AtBlock 1020, the controller 140 identifies which items may berepositioned to a storage location having capacity to receive the item.In various embodiments, the controller 140 identifies items that couldbe placed in smaller storage locations based on the storedcharacteristics and the threshold sizes for storage locations. In someembodiments, the items may be moved closer to the access port 415 forfaster retrieval. If a storage location has become free due to deliveryof an item and an item could be more efficiently stored in thatlocation, the controller 140 may send a repositioning instruction to theautomated load/unload device 460 to retrieve and reposition the iteminto the new location. For example, a small item may be stored in amedium location because all of the small locations were taken when theitem was initially loaded. Once a small location becomes available, thecontroller 140 may instruct the automated load/unload device 460 to movethe small item to the vacant small location. This would vacate a mediumlocation to receive a pickup item if necessary.

After an available storage location is identified for the item, thecontroller 140 sends an instruction to the automated load/unload device460 to position the item onto the appropriate storage location at Block1030. For example, the controller 140 may send instructions to theautomated load/unload device 460 to move to a position proximate theappropriate storage location (i.e. fore/aft to the appropriate locationand up/down relative to the appropriate location) and retrieve the itemfrom the shelf. In some embodiments, the controller 140 will also sendsa signal to the appropriate storage location to initiate movement of theassociated power rollers/conveyors to move the item towards and onto theautomated load/unload device 460 (e.g. onto a platform of the automatedload/unload device). The controller 460 may also send instructions tothe automated load/unload device 460 to initiate poweredrollers/conveyor as well to receive the item. The automated load/unloaddevice 460. In other embodiments, the automated load/unload device 460grasps the item from the shelf without the associated shelf beingactivated.

After the item is obtained by the automated load/unload device 460, theautomated load/unload device may move to the new storage location (i.e.fore/aft to the appropriate location and up/down relative to theappropriate location) and deposit the item onto the new storagelocation. In some embodiments, the controller will also send a signal tothe appropriate storage location to initiate movement of the associatedpower rollers/conveyors to receive the item and bias the item againstthe associated side wall of the vehicle. In various embodiments, thecontroller stores the location of the item in memory for later retrievalwhen the item is to be delivered. After positioning the item onto theappropriate location, the automated load/unload device 460 may return toa home position, ready to position an additional item.

IV. Conclusion

Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come tomind to one skilled in the art to which this invention pertains havingthe benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions andthe associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that theinvention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed andthat modifications and other embodiments are intended to be includedwithin the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms areemployed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense onlyand not for purposes of limitation.

As should be appreciated, various aspects of different embodiments maybe implemented in various ways, including as methods, apparatus,systems, or computer program products. Accordingly, various aspects maytake the form of an entirely hardware embodiment or an embodiment inwhich a processor is programmed to perform certain steps. Furthermore,various aspect implementations may take the form of a computer programproduct on a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readableprogram instructions embodied in the storage medium. Any suitablecomputer-readable storage medium may be utilized including hard disks,CD-ROMs, optical storage devices, or magnetic storage devices.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of thepresent invention, particularly any “preferred embodiments” or“exemplary embodiments” are merely possible examples of theimplementations, merely set forth for a clear understanding of theprinciples of the invention. Any variations and modifications may bemade to the above-described embodiments of the invention withoutdeparting substantially from the spirit of the principles of theinvention. All such modifications and variations are intended to beincluded herein within the scope of the disclosure and present inventionand protected by the following claims.

In concluding the detailed description, it should be noted that it willbe obvious to those skilled in the art that many variations andmodifications can be made to the preferred embodiment withoutsubstantially departing from the principles of the present invention.Also, such variations and modifications are intended to be includedherein within the scope of the present invention as set forth in theappended claims. Further, in the claims hereafter, the structures,materials, acts and equivalents of all means or step-plus functionelements are intended to include any structure, materials or acts forperforming their cited functions.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for retrieving items from avehicle comprising the steps of: storing, in a memory, data indicativeof a storage location of each of one or more items, wherein the storagelocations are assigned locations at which each of the one or more itemsare placed within a vehicle; identifying the one or more items to beretrieved; retrieving data indicative of the storage location of each ofthe one or more items from the memory; detecting, via alocation-determining device, a position of the vehicle with respect to adelivery location; determining whether the detected position of thevehicle is within a threshold distance of the delivery location; inresponse to determining that the detected position of the vehicle iswithin the threshold distance of the delivery location, actuating aload/unload device to retrieve each of the one or more items from thestorage location; and transporting, via the load/unload device, the oneor more items to an access port for retrieval from the vehicle.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising detecting that the vehicle isstopped, and wherein the load/unload device is actuated in response to:(1) detecting that the vehicle is stopped, and (2) determining that thedetected position of the vehicle is within the threshold distance of thedelivery location.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the oneor more items to be retrieved is based at least in part on the detectedposition of the vehicle with respect to the delivery location.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein identifying the one or more items to beretrieved is based on a sequence of delivery identified in apredetermined dispatch plan.
 5. The method of claim 1 further comprisingdetermining one or more characteristics of the one or more items, andwherein the storage location of the one or more items is based at leastin part on the determined characteristics.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the one or more items comprises a plurality of items, and thestep of transporting the one or more items to the access port comprisestransporting the plurality items to the access port such that theplurality of items are available for retrieval from the vehiclesimultaneously.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing adelivery service according to a dispatch plan, wherein said dispatchplan comprises a plurality of delivery stops each corresponding to adelivery location associated with one or more items of a plurality ofitems, and wherein the step of identifying the one or more items to beretrieved is based at least in part on the delivery locationcorresponding to an upcoming delivery stop.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein the load/unload device comprises a selectively rotatableplatform having one or more power rollers, and wherein actuating theload/unload device comprises moving a lifting mechanism to adjust therelative height of the selectively rotatable platform to gain access tothe storage location.
 9. A system for retrieving items from a vehiclecomprising: a vehicle having a cargo area with an access port and aplurality of storage locations, wherein each of said plurality ofstorage locations are configured for storing one or more items; aload/unload device configured to transport the one or more items fromone of the plurality of storage locations to the access port forretrieval from the vehicle; a vehicle location-determining deviceconfigured to detect a position of the vehicle; and a controllercommunicatively coupled to the vehicle location determining device andthe load/unload device, the controller comprising at least one processorand at least one memory having program code instructions embodiedtherein, the at least one memory and program code instructions beingconfigured to, with the at least one processor, cause the controller to:store, in the at least one memory, data indicative of a storage locationof each of the one or more items, wherein the storage locations areassigned locations at which each of the one or more items are placedwithin the vehicle; receive input indicative of the one or more items tobe retrieved; retrieve data indicative of the storage location of eachof the one or more items from the at least one memory; receive, from thevehicle location-determining device, a detected position of the vehiclewith respect to a delivery location; determine whether the detectedposition of the vehicle is within a threshold distance of the deliverylocation; and in response to determining that the detected position ofthe vehicle is within the threshold distance of the delivery location,provide instructions to the load/unload device to retrieve the one ormore items from the storage location of each of the one or more items.10. The system of claim 9, further comprising a telematics devicecommunicatively coupled to the controller and configured to detectconditions indicative of the vehicle being stopped.
 11. The system ofclaim 10, wherein the controller is further configured to receive datafrom the telematics device, and wherein the instructions are provided tothe load/unload device in response to the controller receiving data: (1)from the telematics device indicating that the vehicle is stopped, and(2) that the detected position of the vehicle is within the thresholddistance of the delivery location.
 12. The system of claim 9, whereinthe controller is further configured to identify the one or more itemsto be retrieved based at least in part on the detected position of thevehicle with respect to the delivery location.
 13. The system of claim9, wherein the load/unload device comprises a selectively rotatableplatform having one or more power rollers and a lifting mechanismconfigured to adjust the relative height of the selectively rotatableplatform to gain access to one or more of the plurality of storagelocations.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein the lifting mechanism isoperatively attached to the selectively rotatable platform and a base,wherein the base is configured to move axially within the vehicle. 15.The system of claim 14, wherein the base engages one or more rails inthe vehicle to facilitate movement of the base within the vehicle. 16.The system of claim 9, further comprising a characteristic determiningdevice communicatively coupled to the controller and configured todetermine at least one physical characteristic of the one or more items,and wherein the controller is further configured to determine thestorage location of each of the one or more items based at least in parton the determined at least one physical characteristic of each of theone or more items.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the determinedcharacteristic is at least one of a dimension of the item or a weight ofthe item.
 18. The system of claim 9, wherein: the at least one memoryhas a dispatch plan stored therein, the dispatch plan comprising aplurality of delivery stops each corresponding to a delivery locationassociated with the one or more items; and the controller is furtherconfigured to identify the one or more items to be retrieved based atleast in part on the dispatch plan.
 19. The system of claim 9, whereinthe input indicative of one or more items to be retrieved comprisesinput to a mobile computing entity identifying one or more items to beretrieved.
 20. The system of claim 19, wherein: the at least one memoryhas a dispatch plan stored therein, the dispatch plan comprises aplurality of delivery stops each corresponding to a delivery locationassociated with the one or more items; and the controller is furtherconfigured to identify the one or more items to be retrieved based atleast in part on the dispatch plan.